Jaylen Brown defends Kyrie Irving for Celtics' forgettable performance in 2018-19 season

Boston Celtics small forward Jaylon Brown has come out in support of his former teammate Kyrie Irving. He stated that no one on the Celtics team is willing to blame Irving for Boston’s 2018-19 disappointing season. Last season, Boston Celtics went out in the second round of the playoffs. In the 2017-18 season, Celtics were without Irving and they had reached the conference finals. Irving, who grew up in New Jersey, decided not to exercise his player option this summer and instead joined the Brooklyn Nets along with Kevin Durant.

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NBA: Why did Kyrie Irving leave Celtics 

After signing with the Brooklyn Nets, Irving said (in an interview with ESPN) that the death of his grandfather at the start of last season compelled him to re-evaluate his priorities in life and basketball. He said that playing closer to home was the focus of his life. 

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NBA: Jaylen Brown on Kyrie Irving being blamed for poor 2018-19 season

Speaking to Heavy.com, Jaylen Brown said that Kyrie had got a lot of blame for the poor season and it wasn’t his fault. Jaylen Brown said that it was the front office and the coaches who were at fault. In the interview, Jaylen Brown also said that Kyrie is in a better place in Brooklyn, somewhere where his roots are. Jaylen Brown added that everybody is going to have their own opinion, but he doesn’t think Kyrie cares too much.

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NBA: Kyrie Irving hits back at Boston Celtics fans

Earlier, Kyrie Irving took to Instagram to express his frustration at all the hate being directed towards him on social media from Celtics fans. In a 329 word rant, Irving mentioned how he has been subjected to continuous negative comments across social media which have taken a toll on his mental health. While the former Celtics player received support from certain sections of NBA fans, Celtics fans remained unsympathetic to Irving's ongoing woes.

However, Irving's Brooklyn Nets teammate Kevin Durant came to the rescue of his teammate as he took on an online Celtics troll. He asked the latter to back off and seek help. 

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